Malaysia Airlines close to receiving first A380

Malaysia Airlines stated (10-May-2012) it is close to receiving its first A380 which recently returned to Toulouse following completion of interior furnishing and testing of cabin systems. The aircraft is currently undergoing final system checks prior to the start of the customer acceptance and delivery process at the end of May-2012. The airline plans to enter the aircraft in commercial service on its Kuala Lumpur-London Heathrow route from 01-Jul-2012. Malaysia Airlines has six A380s on order which will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines. [more - original PR]

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While it was acknowledged that progress on major deals was not going to happen overnight, the hope was that as layers of sanctions came down, Iran would be embraced by the rest of the world. In return, Iran was expected to open itself up progressively to foreign trade and investment, and to travel.

The road ahead was perceived to be one that was both a very different, and far easier, one than the one Iran had already travelled. Aviation in particular was a sector that was expected to shine and lead the way for a new era for the country.

Malaysia Airlines expects to incur a smaller than budgeted loss for 2016, giving the group confidence that it will meet its target of returning to profitability by 2018. A rebranding is also in the cards for late 2017 or early 2018, followed by a relisting in 2019.

The group has significantly cut costs over the past year and has started to work on improving the revenue side through a new sales and marketing push. Lower and more competitive fares are being introduced in hopes of boosting sagging load factors.

However, Malaysia Airlines still needs to overcome several challenges to complete its turnaround successfully. This is the sixth and final part of a comprehensive series of analysis reports on Malaysia Airlines' new business plan and outlook.